A Delightful Day in Luverne, Minnesota!
Sometimes when I travel I like to go to big cities with many attractions. And sometimes it’s refreshing to go to a small town and discover it also has a surprising number of quality attractions. Luverne, Minnesota is one of those towns!
I traveled to Luverne, Minnesota on a recent Saturday to meet up with some great friends I’ve known for many years. It was wonderful to see them and catch up, and it was equally wonderful to explore the attractions that Luverne has to offer.
Luverne, Minnesota is a small town in Southwest Minnesota located just off I-90 with a population just under 5000. For a town its size, it offers a surprising number of unique things to see, do, and eat.
My friends and I met at 9:00 am at a local coffee shop called Wildflowers on Main and caught up while drinking specialty drinks and enjoying delicious pastries and breakfast sandwiches. The coffee shop is in an historic building on Main Street (hence the name, obviously). The atmosphere was warm and friendly and it seems to be a popular place for breakfast and lunch. It was a perfect place to reconnect and get our day started. Click on the link below for the website.
https://www.wildflowerscoffee.com/
Next, we drove a block or two to the Rock County Historical Museum. Many smaller towns have a local historical museum, but only a few have a collection like this one. Historical items include a doll collection, two automobiles made in Luverne, a replica of the first settlers cabin that housed a family of six (hard to fathom), and a few other displays. What is most intriguing about this museum, though, is the fact that it also has a display of 6708 nutcrackers of all shapes, sizes, and types. The collection was started by Betty Mann, pictured below.
The 6708 nutcrackers are spread out over two rooms in the museum and are fun to browse. Everyone is sure to spot a favorite! The gift shop also has a selection of nutcrackers to purchase as well. A few representative photos are below. More in an upcoming post, including an interview with Betty Mann!
Other Exhibits at the Rock County Historical Museum…
Luverne also has several large nutcrackers placed through the town and is soon going to feature the world’s largest nutcracker. It is in the process of being assembled. I can’t wait to go back and see it when it is finished!
After posing for a few photos together at the museum, we went to a lovely restaurant on Main Street called “Revel” where we had a lovely, exceptional lunch. Click below for the restaurant website.
After our tummies were full, we headed to two museums in one building - The Brandenburg Gallery and the Herried Military Museum. I was pleased to see both were exceptional and interesting.
The Brandenburg Gallery is a collection of photos of National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg, who resided in Luverne. Jim worked as a National Geographic photographer for 27? years and was awarded a n achievement award. The photos displayed are of bison, wolves, wildflowers, and other nature-related subjects. What’s more, they are absolutely stunning. Photos are spread out over two floors of the museum and each floor has an area showcasing video interviews with Jim. I felt like I got to know Jim both as a photographer and as a person through the exhibits. Sadly, I did learn that Jim passed away last Spring, but he leaves us all a lasting legacy with his photos. A few of his photos (shared with permission) are below.
The other museum in the building, the Herried Military Museum, was also very well-done. It was spread out over the second and third floors of the building and displayed information and artifacts related to American wars from the Civil War to today. There was so much to look at, I easily could have browsed longer. The artifacts were especially well done and included uniforms, sleeping quarters, weapons, transportation, and personal items soldiers were displayed. Local service men and women and their stories were featured in some areas. I came away from the exhibits with much to think about, as well as an ever-increasing appreciation of the sacrifices of our military men and women.
After taking in the museums, I took a few photos of the beautiful Rock County Courthouse…
And then my friends and I went to Blue Mound State Park. The park is just north of Luverne, and has three entrances. The first area has unique Sioux quartzite rock formations, a few hiking trails, and a fun selfie spot. I took a few photos in this area, including a selfie.
The next area we explored climbed a large, rocky hill and ended in a parking lot near a round building. The view from this area was beautiful, showcasing the town and surrounding landscapes. A few lone trees added to the atmosphere of this area.
The last entrance we explored was the main entrance. This area is where you pay your entrance fee ($7 per day per vehicle). If the ranger office is not open when you enter, you can either scan a QR code on the side of the building or go online and pay it at:
Just past this entrance is a large pasture where many bison can be seen grazing, as well as a building for sheltering and feeding them. In the warmer months, you can sign up to take a bus tour in the bison area. We were too late in the season for that, but we did enjoy seeing the bison feeding as we drove past. There are also some hiking trails in this part of the park that take you closer to the bison.
Our next stop was a small lake area with picnic facilities. If we had had more time, we would have stopped and explored, but it looked like a lovely area for a picnic. From this area you can see hiking trails that extend throughout the park.
We turned around in the above parking lot and continued toward the main entrance. Just before got to the ranger station is a road that leads to a dam and a beautiful, forested campground.
Blue Mound State Park is lovely and would be a wonderful place to take in the outdoors. For more information, click below.
The town of Luverne has so much to see and do, you could easily enjoy a relaxing extended weekend there. There are several hotels in town and more restaurants to dine at. In addition, the town has fun, eclectic shopping on Main Street including two art galleries, a comic book store, clothing stores, a historic theater, gift shops, a thrift store, and more. I’d encourage you to check it out when you can. It was certainly a delightful day with so many fun places to explore!
